Blind date at the Hoyt Library

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<p>ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) &#8212; Lindsey Vonn took a cautious look at the downhill course Wednesday in the first practice run at world championships and finished more than two seconds behind leader Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia.</p><p>&#8220;I just wanted to get a feeling for the course,&#8221; said Vonn, who was 12th on an overcast morning that made visibility tricky. &#8220;I was just skiing down solid and trying to build my confidence again.&#8221;</p><p>The American failed to complete the super-G race Tuesday and had problems with her right hand, three months after she broke her upper arm.</p><p>Two more downhill practices are scheduled before Sunday&#8217;s marquee race, and Vonn should get a further look at the slope in the opening downhill leg of the combined race on Friday.</p><p>Mirjam Puchner crashed during Wednesday&#8217;s training run and was airlifted from the mountain. The 24-year-old Austrian won the previous downhill held on the 2.6-kilometer (1 3/5-mile) Engiadina course at the World Cup finals last year.</p><p>Puchner suffered a &#8220;lower leg fracture&#8221; and a concussion, and was taken to a hospital in St. Moritz for surgery, race organizers said in a statement.</p><p>In Vonn&#8217;s absence this season, Stuhec won the first three World Cup downhills plus a super-G last month.</p><p>Stuhec reached the fastest speed Tuesday in the super-G, won by Nicole Schmidhofer of Austria, and got close to 120 kph (75 mph) in downhill practice.</p><p>The 26-year-old Slovene was 0.43 seconds faster than Fabienne Suter of Switzerland. Teammate Lara Gut was third fastest, one day after taking super-G bronze.</p><p>Another Swiss, Jasmine Flury, was fourth fastest, showing the home team&#8217;s comfort level on a slope that regularly hosts its annual national championships.</p><p>Still, an American reached the fastest speed when Breezy Johnson topped 121 kph (75 mph).</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a lot of fun,&#8221; Johnson said of the course. &#8220;The jumps are big but I think they are really pretty well built and none of them are too flat.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Lindsey Vonn of the United States reacts in the finish area during the women&#8217;s downhill training at the 2017 Alpine Skiing World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Wednesday, Feb. 8. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_114937185-dcb506d41fe74ca4ae6180b7321439d9.jpg</photo0><caption0>Lindsey Vonn of the United States reacts in the finish area during the women&#8217;s downhill training at the 2017 Alpine Skiing World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Wednesday, Feb. 8. </caption0><photoCredit0>Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By GRAHAM DUNBAR</p><p>AP Sports Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Vonn cautious in downhill practice; Stuhec posts best time